On the 57th day of the war, fighting continued in Mariupol, but some of the civilians held captive in the port city were still evacuated.
Ukrainian forces continue to resist attacks by invaders in the city of Mariupol, and the situation at the Azovstal steelworks, one of the last places still under Ukrainian control in the city, is critical, given that a large number of civilians are still inside. Also in eastern Ukraine, the defense forces repulsed numerous attempts by the invaders to advance in the Donbass region, in which Russia is concentrating all its efforts, in an attempt to conquer it for the quasi-self-proclaimed states it has invented in the area and for thus to obtain as little victory as possible in this war. During the night, the Russian army carried out devastating bombings in Mikolaiv, Kharkov but also in Donbas.
In the Donbas, the Russians have managed to take control of Ruby and Kremina, and 80% of Luhansk is under occupation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Zelenski says his forces do not have enough “heavy and serious” weapons to defeat the Russians in Mariupol.
Zelenskyy has also called for new sanctions against Russia, saying they must be “really painful”, as the European Union prepares its sixth package of sanctions. “We are working to make things really painful for the Russian war machine and for the Russian state as a whole,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that he had “comprehensive talks” with the president of the European Council on financial and defense issues, but also on sanctions. Zelenskyy has also urged for a complete embargo on energy imports from Russia.
Russians hoist Soviet victory in WWII Soviet victory in occupied areas
The invaders began displaying the flag of Soviet victory in World War II in parts of occupied Ukraine, CNN reports. The red flag (photo), hoisted on the Reichstag building on September 9, 1945, when Nazi Germany capitulated, includes the Soviet sickle and hammer. Russian troops used this flag in a propaganda exercise in occupied Kherson, and the separatists also used it in the Kremina, where it was hoisted on a Ukrainian government building. The flag was also placed on the Henicesk Regional Council building in the Kherson region. The Russians also reinstalled a statue of Lenin in front of the building earlier this week. According to European officials, Russian forces feel under self-imposed pressure to get as little form of victory as possible until May 9, when the World War II Victory Day (World War II) parade should take place. , with a speech by the Russian dictator.
The Russian military now controls 80 percent of the Ukrainian region of Lugansk, the region’s governor, Serhii Haidai, wrote in the Telegram. He said Rubyne and Popasna in the Lugansk region were “partially” under Russian control. “The bombings have also multiplied here,“Haidai added.
At the beginning of the war, on February 24, separatists in the self-proclaimed “Lugansk People’s Republic” controlled about 30 percent of the region. An estimated 70,000 people remain in the region. “If a ceasefire is agreed on Sunday during Orthodox Easter, the authorities will use this opportunity as much as possible for evacuations and aid deliveries,” Haidai said.
Russia needs significant success in the war that broke out in Ukraine before May 9 when Moscow celebrates World War II Victory Day, the British Defense Ministry said.
U.S. assessments
Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said that Ukraine has not been given any fixed-wing aircraft by the U.S. or other allies and partners. However, he said the country was given spare parts that enabled a number of fixed-wing aircraft to be operable that previously were not.
Fixed-wing refers to aircraft that are not helicopters, such as bombers and fighters.
Meanwhile, a senior Defense Department official said Russia continues to conduct offensive and shaping operations in eastern Ukraine.
Shaping operations involve the placement of more forces and enablers — such as engineering and logistical support, as well as command and control systems.
To the west of Donetsk, Ukraine, fighting continues in the Kherson region. “We assess that Ukrainian forces have regained regain control of a town Oleksandrivka, Ukraine, about 40 kilometers south of Mykolayiv,” the official said.
DOD also maintains that the Ukrainian city of Mariupol is still being contested, and there still is active Ukrainian resistance at Mariupol’s Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, the official said.
Russian forces are advancing south from the north side of the Donbas region, and they are trying to maintain pressure on Ukrainian forces in that area, the official said.
Russian forces continue to push south out of Izyum, Ukraine, toward the cities of Kramatorsk, Sloviansk and Lyman in the Donbas, the official said.
Airstrikes are focused on the area of fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly around Izyum and north of the Donbas, the official said. These are airstrikes that include the use of some Russian bombers, as well.
In the maritime domain, the Russian Navy continues to be postured largely off the coast of Crimea and well away from the from the southern coast near Odesa, Ukraine, and that part of the northern Black Sea, the official said.
Security assistance continues to arrive in Eastern Europe from the United States and elsewhere in Europe, the official said, including 155 mm howitzers and thousands of artillery rounds.
Training on U.S.-made artillery pieces is being conducted outside of Ukraine, the official added.
In the Donbas and elsewhere, “the Ukrainians are putting up a fight. They’re scrapping. They’re not just laying down and letting the Russians move,” the official said.
Joe Biden’s Statement on Ukraine
On April 21, the US president announced the provision of two new aid packages to Ukraine worth $1.8 billion, as well as visas for refugees from Ukraine.
April 21 at 5 p.m. US President Joe Biden gave a short press conference for journalists, in which he announced his plans for Ukraine. In his statement, Biden said that Russia must be confident that the United States will continue its support for Ukraine and economic sanctions against Russian terror to devastate their economy. Read more here.
Ukraine complains that Germany removed all heavy weapons from the package of military assistance to Ukraine
Ukraine said that at the direction of Olaf Scholz, Germany removed all heavy weapons from the package of military assistance to Ukraine
“At the beginning of Putin’s war, Germany announced the provision of a tranche for armaments for Ukraine. The government of our country sent a list of 48 pages to Germany, and they were sent to the conveyors of German industry. However, after editing by Olaf Scholz, the list was reduced to 15 pages, and most of the items requested were replaced with alternatives.
As a result, “help” from Germany is only €370 million instead of the guaranteed €1 billion. The package includes auxiliary items like the already sensational helmets, sensors, some vehicles, and field equipment. According to Scholz, apparently, Ukraine should protect its people (and Europe) with helmets and tents. On April 9, Ukraine sent 2 letters to Germany with requests for weapons but did not receive a response. Further, Scholz announced at the EU meeting that Germany no longer has the ability to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons,” reads a report by good-time-invest.com.